Review of JFK (1991) by Xgary X — 05 Mar 2011

Oliver Stone's JFK is a rare feat in the movie industry: a 3+ hour film that doesn't at any point seem to drag or feel at all superfluous. That in and of itself is a remarkable achievement, which can be credited to Stone's expert storytelling that is on display here, which keeps the film moving swiftly along towards the final showdown in the courtroom.

Kevin Costner plays Jim Garrison, a district attorney in New Orleans who decides to unravel the perceived conspiracy behind the assassination of JFK. He, along with his staff, begin piecing together the various bits of evidence, chasing lead after lead and eventually setting their sites on a target to take to court as the only person to ever be prosecuted for involvement in the death of JFK. That man is Clay Shaw, played with superb understatement by Tommy Lee Jones in one of the best performances of his career.

The ordeal puts the kind of hardship on Garrison and his family that we often see in the "fight the system" legal thrillers, but it feels much more honest and real here than it does in other films. Perhaps this is because Garrison was an actual person, or perhaps it is because of the performances of Costner and Sissy Spacek, who plays his wife, or perhaps, and most likely, it is a combination of the two. Whatever the reason, the stakes surrounding this investigation feel appropriately high, which gives a great sense of weight to the finale of the film.

Along the way, Stone employs the best of the best in Hollywood in the supporting cast. Along for the ride in supporting roles are Kevin Bacon, Gary Oldman, John Candy, Walter Matthau, Jack Lemmon, Joe Pesci, and the list goes on. Normally it would be distracting to go through a 3+ hour film and constantly see famous face after famous face pop up for a few lines of dialogue, but the actors do such a great job in their varying amounts of screen time that we actually buy them as the characters they play, rather than simply being there as celebrity cameos.

Stone also does a phenomenal job of mixing real video footage of the time period with his own original footage of the actors doing their work. It gives the film a sense of perspective and setting that might otherwise be missing, and it adds a sense of authenticity to the proceedings as well.

Even though it clocks in at over 3 hours, Oliver Stone's JFK is a riveting legal mystery thriller that keeps its audience on the edge of their seats for the duration.